Track-sanding apparatus.



I. A. GIBBS. TRACK SANDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 29, 190 8.

Patented May 4, 1909 uuentg;

Wilma sea UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;-

= ISAAC aromas, QF'ROA'NOKE, VIRGINI assrouoa or '0NE-HALF 'ro'JoHN nosE, or

x 3ROANOKE,

VIRGINIA.

V I 7' TRACK-Sammie APPARATUS? 'uaee ses;

ginia, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Track-Sanding Apparatus; and I do hereby, declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description the invention, such, as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appert'ains to make and use the same. a

My invention relates to certain new and 'usefulimprovements in track-sanding appa- It has forits object to provide an apparatus which shall beeffective at all times and free from the liability usually experienced of the choking of the sand delivery pipeor conduit,

owing to the j auuning itherein of the sand which occurs ,by' reason pf, the same'when moist, accumulating at any locality within said pipe. p

In the latest and-most improved sanding apparatus, the sand as it flowsfrom the sand dome is injected into the delivery "pipe or conduit over a partition, in the sand trap by a blast of air from a nozzle located within and near the bottom of the sand trap, and after passing up and over the partition referred to, 1t falls by gravity through the vertical delivery pipe or conduit to the rail. In this construction the force of the air blast is exhausted in lifting the sand over the partition of the sand trap and the falling sand is liable to, and frequently accumulates at various localities in the delivery pipe to such an extent as to constitute an obstruction or positive dam to the flow of the same, necessitating its dislodgment by blows u on the delivery pipe, thus defacing am. ultimately damaging the same.

My invention is designed to oyeroin'e these difficulties and consists in roviding'an apparatus of the type referred to' with an auxiliary a'ir blast eading directly into the upper end of the vertical delivery pipe or condurt, and'adapted by its application to free said pipe or conduit of any obstructions therein as will be hereinafter and in detail ex lainedl i i n order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may know how tomakejand use my invention and appreciate its advantages I will proceed to-describe the construction and operation of the v l Specification 02 Letters Patten Application med 4pm 29, mos. Serial at. 450,001;

Patented may 4, i909.

same refer'ring'tothe accompanying drawing anwhioh-r v i p Figure l is a perspective view, showing a sand done with m irrproved apparatus connected therewith; 1g. 2 is a detail plan view.

3 is a side elevation, and Fig. 4 is .ade-

pipe l'entrej o Similar reference numerals indicate like parts in the several figures of the drawing.

1, represents an ordinary locomotive sand done to which is secured a sand trap 2, by

means of screw bolts 3, in an ordinary rnanner.

Thesand trap conununicates at 4, with the sand (103136 and is form ed with a sand passage,

5, extending upwardly in an inclined direction and then downward and cotmuunic'ating with the vertical delivery pipe or conduit'fi,

connected therewith by ascrew coupling 7.

The usual air nozzle 8, is located within the sand trap and I is connected in any desired manner with a pipe 9, leadin from the com' P1 .i tail view showing modification asto blast-" pressed air reservoir, and w en compressed air is admitted a supply of sand is projected by the blast through the nozzle 8, to thesand passage 59 and then, delivered into the vertical pi e or conduit 6, in an obvious manner and la] s by gravity to the track.

10, is an auxilia air passage through the trap casting and eading directly into the upper end of the vertical delivery pipe or conduit, and this passage is connected by suitable valve controlled pi e connections 11,

with the main compresse air reservoir. in order that when'necessa a blast of airmay be delivered 'in a vertica direction throug the sand delivery pi e or conduit 6, to effect the dislodgment o any sandwhich may. i

have accumulated for any reason therein, and thus clear said pi eor conduit and enable the sand rojecter b the primary blast from the nozz e 8,100 free y flow to the track. It will bcseen that the air nozzle 8, located at one side of the bridge in the sand trap drives the sand up and'over said bridgewhen, un-

der ordinary circumstancesit will travel by gravity through the conduit ipe 6, to the track, but if for any reason t e conduit be comes clogged and the sand fails to flow vertically therethrough a blast of air adnut-- ted to the sand trap on-the' opposite side of the bridge therein, and in a vertical direction, constitutes a projeotlle force and removes any obstruction in the conduit. This auxiliary blast not only efiects a perfect clearance of any obstruction, but serves also to render the interior surface of the delivery pipe or conduit dry, prevents any oxidation of the same which conduces to the formation of sand obstructions, and renders it unnecessary to resort to the usual practice of striking the conduit with a hammer to dislodge obstructions. 1

I have not shown any of the valve mechanism for controlling the supply of air to'the air passages as such devices are well under- 7 stood by those familiar with such devices.

within said pipe or conduit, and many changes may be made in other details of construction without departing from the spirit of my invention which resides as stated in the broad idea of combining with a sand delivery apparatus any preferred means for applying a vertically directed blast of air at the upper end of the sand delivery pipe or conduit.

-' I am aware that it is not new to admit a blast of airat the upper end of the sand conduit as a means of creating an exhaust which operates to draw the sand from the sand dome into the conduit, and that it is not new to apply primary and auxiliary air blasts at one side of the bridge of a sand trap for the,

purposeof carrying the sand over said bridge, ut in neither of these instances is there a blast employed to deliver the sand to the vertical conduit, and a secondary blast delivered in a vertical direction for the sole pur pose of removing obstructions which may occur in the conduit.

Having described the construction and advantages of my improved track-sanding apparatus, what 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a track sanding apparatus embodying a sand trap in connection with a sand dome, said trap provided with a sand bridge and communicating with a delivery conduit, means fordirecting compressed air to the sand trap between the sand dome and the bridge in the sand trap, and means for deliveringfompressed air on the opposite side of said ridge and directly into the upper end of the vertical delivery conduit, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ISAAC A. GIBBS.

Witnesses: V

LAWRENCE S. Dzxvrs,

1. H. MEKER. 

